Despite the Seahawk Invitational, the Campbell Invitational, and then the Hurricane Hanna Invitational being cancelled, NC teams traveled to SC for some much needed competition.
The Eye Opener meet, held in Spartanburg, is traditionally a solid meet with some great out-of-state competition. This year's meet was no exception.
A few teams from the Charlotte (and surrounding) area made a short trip to Northwestern HS in Rock Hill for the Trojan Invitational. Thanks to Northwestern HS for being so accommodating.
Eye Opener Photo Summary
Thanks to SCRunners.com for photos: hyperionxc.
John Harwell of Asheville continued his successful season with his win at the Eye Opener Meet. Harwell ran a fine time of 16:17 on the rolling, grass course.
Steve Bollinger of Olympic proved he is one to watch in 3A this year. 16:39 at the Spartanburg course is a solid time. Look for Bollinger to be in the mix for a top 5 spot at the state meet.
North Meck's multi-state champion has gotten off to a good start this year. She ran 19:07 last week at McAlpine and 19:17 here, finishing 2nd to TN's Allie Scalf. Kimberly ran 17:44 last year at FL South.
Laura Hoer & Marie Mauhar are the leaders of yet another tough TC Roberson team. They finished 4th & 5th overall, helping place TCR 1st in the International Race.
Trojan Invitational
Alex Taylor of Providence placed 2nd overall in the boy's race. Mark Blackmon of Fort Mill won the race, finishing 5 seconds ahead of Alex. He helped the Providence boys to a 2nd place finish, well back of Ardrey Kell.
Ardrey Kell is currently ranked 5th in the 4A Coaches Poll. A spot they earned with their impressive performance at the Providence Invitational. They continued to impress with thier fine running at the Trojan Invitational. Usual front runner, Jack Klecker, finished 2nd on the team with Noah Brown leading the way. Noah, Jack, Charlie Klecker, and Stephen Derlath finished 3rd, 4th, 5th, & 6th respectively. Their tight pack of 1-4 were only separated by 8 seconds. Back a little over 30 seconds was AK's 5th and 6th runners. Should AK continue on their successful track, look for them to compete for a top 5 finish at the 4A state meet.
In the girl's race, Danielle Hobbs of Sun Valley won her 2nd Invitational of the season. She edged Hannah Robinson of Rock Hill HS, 19:12 to 19:13. Danielle led a quartet of Sun Valley ladies into the top 14: Samantha Sawyer, 10th; Kayla Price, 12th; Amy Hofmann, 14th. Sun Valley, ranked 3rd in the 3A Coaches Poll, defeated some of the state's top teams. They knocked off Providence HS, ranked 3rd in 4A, Charlotte Latin, ranked 1st in the NCISAA, and Weddington, ranked 9th in 4A. Could this team battle TC Roberson?
Providence's girls finished 2nd overall, missing their top runner, Arden Mattachini. Providence has a solid group of girls, forming a very nice pack. Jamie Van Tassel led the Panthers with her 11th place finish in 20:34. Behind her was the pack with numbers 2-5 running 20:59, 20:59, 21:00, & 21:00. It doesn't get much closer than that.
Haylee Dawe of Charlotte Latin, who may be the 2nd best runner in the NCISAA (It's hard to place her ahead of Adrianne Soo of Durham Academy), continued her great start. She finished 4th at the WNC CC Carnival and then ran 19:22 in an impressive 1st place effort on Thursday. Haylee finished 3rd at the Trojan Invitational. Look for her to have a very solid sophomore year, and hit well under 19:00.